ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. — Three hundred events is a major milestone for any racing driver or team, and that’s the mark the Corvette Racing program is notching at the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America.
Since making its debut at the 1999 Rolex 24 At Daytona, Corvette Racing has achieved 115 race wins out of 255 starts in IMSA competition. Chevrolet and Corvette Racing have also claimed 14 manufacturer championships.
This year has seen a fundamental change to the Corvette Racing program, with Chevrolet offering for the first time a GT3-homologated car to customer teams in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports (Chevrolet’s long-term development partner) prepares two factory-supported Corvette Z06 GT3.R entries in the GTD PRO class, while AWA fields the No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R in GTD.
Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia scored the Corvette Z06 GT3.R’s first IMSA victory in the most recent round of the WeatherTech Championship, three weeks ago at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in the No. 3 Corvette.
“When I heard about the 300th, I wondered how many of those I did,” admitted Garcia, who has made just over half (153) of those starts since joining the program in 2009. “It all adds up – many championships, many races. I’m very proud of what I accomplished with Corvette Racing, and what they gave me to have such a great career with them.
“Now I’m one of the oldest guys in the team, and I see so many familiar faces around the paddock that have been part of Corvette Racing the whole time. That’s what makes the whole thing so successful – everything runs pretty smooth.”
Garcia set the fastest GTD PRO practice time at Road America on Friday, lapping the 4.048-mile circuit in 2 minutes, 5.369 seconds (116.238 mph).
“I’ve always loved this racetrack and always have fun here,” Garcia said. “It’s a driver’s track and you can make a difference.”